Budget cuts could lead to dirty schools
Posted : Feb 8, 2010 6:01 PM
Your child's school is likely going to lose a substantial amount of money next year. Lawmakers are proposing hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to K-12 education due to the state budget deficit.
At school District 11 in Colorado Springs that loss will mean layoffs and cuts to nearly every department.
Next year in D-11 there could be fewer buses, bigger classes and possibly dirtier schools.
Glenn Gustafson, CFO for the district says, "We're at a point where we've got to make some really difficult decisions."
Layoffs are a given. Gustafson says, "At least 48 and my guess is before we're all said and done it would be closer to 100."
Another proposal calls for school janitors to be outsourced; potentially cutting more than 100 jobs.
Gustafson says, "The problem is we're getting close to making decisions about this or teachers, and when you get to those levels of decisions it gets really, really challenging."
District 11 is anticipating a $16 million loss in state funding next year. Lawmakers plan to cut money to schools, despite laws on the books to protect education funding.
Should the cuts pass, every school in the state will be affected.
District 11 plans to wrap up its budget decision in about a month. There will be another board meeting to discuss the topic Wednesday. A final vote on the cuts is expected in March.
Jake at Feb 8th 2010 8:58 PM
All of these cuts are because the city is mad that we didn't vote in the last tax hike. Now they are trying to bully the citizens into believing the only way to fix this will be to vote in a tax hike next time it's on the ballot. We must not stand for this!
jlp2007 at Feb 8th 2010 10:29 PM
The cuts are taking place all over the state not just in Colorado Springs. So it can't all be blamed on the ballot.
Melissa R at Feb 8th 2010 10:38 PM
So at places I have worked when someone got laid off their job didn't disappear, it became an addition to someone else job who was salaried...hmmm, who is salaried in our school systems? Oh yeah that right, the fat heads at the top of the food chain. Our children shouldn't have to go to dirty schools, they need to re...shuffle to work to people who aren't sitting in classrooms teaching. When we lose money due to budget problems we don't stop providing a clean home & healthy food to our children. We work harder in times like this, not less. Let's show our children what being grown ups is all about! Sometimes it means you have to put on your big girl undies and get your hands dirty. Parents now a days are working two jobs to make ends meet, so my heart doesn't break that people are going to have to multitask. Don't pass it to the admins to do, do it yourself!
CLM at Feb 11th 2010 12:32 AM
You have to realize about the kids going to dirty schools how can it be cleaned well if you go from 9 to 10 custodians per high school to one there is no way one can clean the whole building.
Me at Feb 9th 2010 12:07 AM
Please be informed of how school finance in the state works before you post.